They make up nearly two-thirds of the global workforce, 88% of businesses employ them and they’re the public face of most organisations. So, when it comes to internal communications, reaching frontline workers is vital, right?
But consider this. According to a Microsoft survey, 51% of frontline workers in non-managerial positions feel undervalued as employees, and 32% say they don’t feel heard when communicating workplace issues. So, what’s going wrong and how can we make sure we’re getting through to this elusive audience?
Who are frontline workers?
Before we dive into the best-practice tips, let’s outline exactly who these frontline workers are. Otherwise known as non-desk-based or deskless workers, frontline workers are the healthcare heroes, retail warriors, construction champs and public service pros who keep our world running smoothly.
Why frontline workers are so hard to reach?
The problem is, they’re more likely to be on the shop floor, in the field, or behind a wheel than behind a desk and that’s what makes them so difficult to reach.
Frontline workers are less likely to have access to digital tools like email or a company intranet. They tend to work diverse shift patterns and are geographically dispersed. They’re also less likely to have downtime for checking in with digital communications.
Why reaching frontline workers is vital to your business?
So, if they’re so difficult to reach, why should we care about engaging with them? The simple answer is: it makes good business sense.
Like most workers, if employees feel connected and valued, they’re more engaged, which leads to higher levels of productivity. Not to mention higher retention. In addition, frontline workers are often involved in safety critical tasks, and good communication makes for better safety and compliance.
As we’ve mentioned, frontline workers are generally the public face of the organisation they represent, making their insights into the day-to-day running of the business invaluable.
This public-facing role also means that keeping frontline workers aligned with your company’s mission and values is essential to maintaining a consistent quality of service.
So, how can we solve this problem?
We spoke to founder and CEO of Redefining Communications and author of the report ‘Remotely Interested? Communicating with deskless workers’ Jenni Field who shared her best practice tips for frontline worker comms.
8 ways to reach your frontline workers
1. Make it relevant
For frontline workers, their sense of belonging comes more from their colleagues than their connection to the organisation, so making content relevant to their specific roles and location is key to successful comms.
2. Line manager investment
Investing in your line managers’ communication skills is key to reaching the frontline.
Line managers play a vital role in relaying company information to frontline workers. Nearly all deskless workers rely on their line managers for comms. So much so, that if communication from their line manager is poor, they’ll think all communication in the organisation is poor.
3. Use your ‘third’ spaces
Not work and not home, ‘third’ spaces are social spaces in the workplace, where people go to relax during their working day. Think canteen area or locker room.
But beware, workers don’t want to be bombarded with work messages during their breaks, so using the right type of communication channel, relaying only the most important information is crucial in getting their attention but not being too intrusive.
4. Customise comms for worker types
Frontline worker roles are incredibly diverse. As we’ve already mentioned, they might be on the shop floor, in the field, or behind a wheel. They might work in a team or alone.
Understanding these differences and customising content to suit, is essential for reaching this audience.
5. Understand motivations
Creating content that aligns with frontline workers’ motivation is key to engagement.
Some workers will be more connected to the role they fulfil than the brand they work for, whereas others will have chosen the brand because of their values.
Understanding this is crucial for reaching this hard-to-reach group.
6. Choose the right tools
In the past few years there’s been a huge rise in the use of messaging tools like WhatsApp. Tools like these don’t come without risks, so think carefully about which digital tools are right for your employees to prevent them from getting overloaded. Opt for simple, user-friendly platforms that meet their specific needs, like Microsoft Teams, while keeping the organisational data safe.
7. Focus on verbal communication
The way desk-based and frontline workers communicate with each other is very different. Whereas desk-based workers are more used to communicating in writing, via Teams, email etc. frontline workers are most likely to share content with each other quickly and verbally, often while they’re working.
So, make sure to create concise, clear content that’s easy to share verbally if you want to reach this audience.
8. Clarify your purpose
According to research by Redefining Communications, frontline workers tend to already be engaged, so this need not be the reason for communication. When it comes to defining why you’re communicating, what is your purpose? Understanding that and ensuring every communication piece has a defined goal is key to successfully communicating with this group.
For more on reaching frontline workers, including how to use Microsoft 365 to connect and how Fresh can help, download our free eBook: Effective communication for frontline workers with Microsoft 365: Making internal comms work for the frontline.
